Adam Lowry enjoyed an outstanding season for the Swift Current Broncos, appearing in all 72 games while scoring a team-leading 45 goals and 43 assists for 88 points to go with a +18 rating and 102 penalty minutes. Lowry’s considerable contributions to the Broncos helped the Club make the WHL playoffs for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The Calgary, AB, product finished sixth among all WHL players in goals and finished 12th in WHL scoring with 88 points. In addition, Lowry finished tied for eighth among all WHL players with 14 power play goals and tied for second with six shorthanded goals. His eight game-winning goals also tied him for second among WHL players in that category. The Winnipeg Jets prospect displayed remarkable consistency throughout the 2012-13 WHL season, going more than two games without recording a point only three times all season while enjoying a season-best 21-game point streak and an eight-game goal streak. His efforts saw him named the Husky WHL Player of the Month for December. Lowry’s importance to the Broncos during the 2012-13 season cannot be understated as he had a hand in nearly 48% of his team’s entire offensive output.

A lot was expected from the Plano, TX, product in his first season in the WHL, considering he has been at the top of scouting lists for the last couple of years. Jones more than delivered on those expectations, posting 14 goals and 42 assists for 56 points in 61 games for the Winterhawks, helping the team to their most successful regular-season campaign in franchise history. The 6’4”, 206-lb rearguard led all rookie defencemen and ranked fourth among all WHL blue liners in points and posted an outstanding +46 rating to rank seventh among all WHL players in that category. Having also led Team USA to Gold at the 2013 World Junior Championship, Jones established himself as a dominant player at both ends of the rink in his first WHL season. Jones was originally drafted by the Everett Silvertips in the first round of the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft, but was acquired by the Winterhawks last May.

Bartosak was a heroic performer for the Red Deer Rebels during the 2012-13 regular season, helping the Rebels to a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference after missing the playoff last year. The 19-year-old from Koprivnice, CZE, appeared in 55 games this season, posting a 33-14-5 record with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage to help the Rebels to the WHL’s sixth-best defensive record. Bartosak ranked fourth among all WHL players in GAA and had the best save percentage of any netminder to appear in over 30 games. In addition to his five shutouts, Bartosak boasted a perfect 8-0 record in shootouts, allowing only two goals on 28 opposition shootout attempts. Bartosak, who is eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft, was named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending November 25th.

Brenden Kichton of the Spokane Chiefs is the Western Conference finalist for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy for the second straight year. The 20-year-old from Spruce Grove, AB, enjoyed another dominant season in Spokane, leading the Chiefs and leading all WHL defencemen in scoring with 85 points, including 22 goals. Kichton, the only defenceman to lead his team in scoring, ranked first among all WHL blue liners and tied for fifth among all WHL players with 63 assists, and had 19 more points than the second-highest scoring rearguard in the League. In addition, Kichton posted a solid +39 rating this season, leading the Chiefs in that department. The 6’0”, 195-lb rearguard and New York Islanders prospect closes out his WHL career with 67 goals and a whopping 268 points in 333 career regular-season games.

McGill made his return to the WHL this season to coach the team he guided to the 2002 Memorial Cup. Taking over a young Kootenay Club for the 2012-13 WHL season, McGill helped the Ice recover from a difficult first half as they finished the regular season with a 35-35-2-0 record for an eighth-place finish in the Eastern Conference while making the playoffs for a 15th consecutive season. With the Ice sitting at 10-24-1 and sitting in 21st place in the WHL standings at the 35-game mark, McGill found a way to rally the players to a higher level of play. From that point on, the Ice managed a complete turnaround and posted a 25-11-1 mark over the second half which was the fifth-best record of any WHL Club over that span. McGill brought the best out in many of his younger players, with 17-year-olds Sam Reinhart, Jaedon Descheneau and Luke Philp leading the team offensively. McGill’s win marks the fourth time in nine years this award has been presented to a Kootenay Ice head coach (Cory Clouston, 2004-05 & 2006-2007; Mark Holick, 2009-10).